Plea deal drops abduction charge lodged against father

A felony abduction charge lodged against a North Carolina father, who snatched his 11-year-old daughter early last January from a New Kent County hospital, has been dropped. But the prosecution has the right to reinstate the charge and seek extradition if the father violates probation within the next three years.

The father, Lemuel Robert Cartwright, 57, of Bath, N.C., pleaded guilty on April 7 in New Kent Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court to a misdemeanor count of obstruction of justice.

Under terms of a plea deal hammered out between prosecutor Linwood Gregory and Cartwright’s attorney, Terry Osborne, a felony child neglect count was amended to the misdemeanor while the abduction charge was dropped.

Judge Richard Atlee sentenced Cartwright to 12 months in jail with 11 suspended for the next three years. Following terms of the plea deal, the judge also imposed a $600 fine. Cartwright paid $500 toward the fine and court costs, which total $1,121. He is paying off the remainder at $75 per month.

Cartwright received credit for time already served, thus he walked out of court last week a free man. He was taken into custody in South Carolina on Jan. 6 and transferred to Henrico Jail East in New Kent on Feb. 4. He returned to North Carolina after being released on bond on March 2.

After last week’s brief court hearing, Gregory said Cartwright probably would not have received more time behind bars if the case had gone to trial and the prosecution had won a conviction.

“If both were felony convictions, the state’s sentencing guidelines recommend one day to six months,” Gregory said, pointing to the defendant’s clean record. He added that Cartwright is on disability.

Cartwright and his wife, Sylvia, placed their daughter, Alexis, at Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents last Nov. 5 for “behavioral concerns.” The child also suffers from diabetes, thus filling the hospital’s dual mental/medical diagnosis requirement for admittance.

During the Thanksgiving holiday, the parents violated the hospital’s patient curfew regulations by returning her late, and the girl’s blood sugar level was found to be abnormally high. The incident was reported to North Carolina Social Services. The agency sought and won an emergency court order, granting custody on Dec. 14. That order was replaced on Dec. 18 by a permanent version.

The father was visiting his daughter on Jan. 3 when hospital staff reported her missing. Authorities immediately issued an Amber Alert, fearing the worst since the child required twice-daily insulin injections.

Authorities began tracking Cartwright’s path through eastern sections of North and South Carolina by monitoring the defendant’s credit/debit card and cell phone use. They also alerted pharmacies in the area, knowing the girl’s insulin needs and anticipating the father would attempt to obtain the medication.

That hunch played out around 3 p.m. on Jan. 6 when a CVS pharmacist in Manning, S.C., a small town on Interstate 95 about 70 miles south of the North Carolina line, alerted town police that a man fitting Cartwright’s description was in the store and seeking insulin. Police arrested Cartwright as he left the store. They found the girl seated in the defendant’s pickup truck outside in the store’s parking lot.

A medical examination determined the girl to be in good condition. She remains in the custody of Social Services and has not been readmitted at Cumberland.

Last week’s court appearance resolved all legal matters in New Kent involving the father. Cartwright, however, faces a contempt of court charge relating to the custody issue in Beaufort County, N.C., Gregory said. The defendant did not incur charges in South Carolina.